The London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2005–2008 The London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2005-2008 Copyright

Greater London Authority July 2005

Published by Greater London Authority City Hall The Queen’s Walk London SE1 2AA Enquiries 020 7983 4100 Minicom 020 7983 4458 www.london.gov.uk

In collaboration with Association of London Government, British Transport Police, City of London Police, Government Office for London, Housing Corporation, London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority, Metropolitan Police Authority, Metropolitan Police Service, Transport for London, Youth Justice Board

The partners are grateful to Mike Hough, Jessica Jacobson and Andrew Millie, of the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King’s College London, for their help in preparing this strategy.

ISBN 1 85261 757 8

Photographs © Adam Hinton; Liane Harris

This document is printed on 75 per cent recycled paper, 25 per cent from sustainable forest management Contents

Summary 5

1 The London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 7

2 Principles of the strategy 15

3 Aims and objectives 19

4 Programme of action 21

5 Implementation plan 38

Appendix Participants in the consultation 47 Summary

This strategy has been produced by 11 cross-London agencies with shared responsibilities at a regional level for tackling anti-social behaviour - either directly or indirectly. As the partners in this strategy, we are committed to building on our existing work on anti-social behaviour (ASB) and to developing new actions where necessary. The strategy will be a regional framework for action on ASB, which will bridge the gap between the national ASB strategy and the local programmes being implemented by London’s 33 crime and disorder reduction partnerships.

The London ASB Strategy reflects our commitment to the following principles: • ASB must be tackled effectively. • Effective action on ASB demands a balance between rigorous enforcement and prevention. • Remedies for ASB must promote long-term social inclusion. • Measures to tackle ASB must be consistent with human rights legislation.

The strategy is focussed on five key objectives, which are the basis of a wide-ranging programme of action:

1 We will energise and support local action by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and their partners.

Most work to tackle ASB is carried out at a local level, as it should be. We already support this work in a wide variety of ways: through the provision of funding, training and technical support. We are committed to strengthening and extending this support.

2 We will improve co-ordination and co-operation between local agencies and between partnerships.

Effective action against ASB depends on co-operation between local agencies and between partnerships. We will encourage partnership working at a local level and will promote and facilitate co-ordination across borough boundaries.

3 We will supplement local action with cross-London work, where needed.

Under this strategy, we are launching a range of regional initiatives that will directly address ASB. The delivery of programmes on a regional rather than a local basis can bring benefits in terms of efficiency or effectiveness. The regional initiatives are being undertaken in the areas of: • Neighbourhood policing • Transport • Fire • Housing and planning.

4 **We will ensure consistency and sustainability in policy responses to ASB across London.**

Different strands of social policy can pull against each other, as can different approaches to tackling ASB. We aim to ensure that: a) the London ASB Strategy is internally consistent; and b) other work and strategic initiatives undertaken by the cross-London agencies are in harmony with this strategy.

5 **We will identify regional structures for tackling ASB.**

We will only achieve Objectives 1–4 if responsibility for this strategy is allocated to regional bodies that are competent to pursue them. We will ensure that this happens.

Association of London Government British Transport Police City of London Police Government Office for London Greater London Authority Housing Corporation London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority Metropolitan Police Authority Metropolitan Police Service Transport for London Youth Justice Board

July 2005 1 The London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy

This document sets out the London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy for 2005 to 2008. The strategy has been produced by 11 cross-London agencies with shared responsibilities at a regional level for tackling anti-social behaviour (either directly or indirectly). As the partners in this strategy, we are committed to building on our existing work in this area and to developing and implementing new actions where necessary. The strategy will identify, co-ordinate and direct the many strands of our developing work on anti-social behaviour (henceforth ASB).

The strategy partners Association of London Government (ALG) British Transport Police (BTP) City of London Police (CoLP) Government Office for London (GOL) London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) Housing Corporation (HC) Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Transport for London (TfL) Greater London Authority (GLA) Youth Justice Board (YJB)

What is anti-social behaviour? The statutory definition of ASB, as set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, is behaviour:

...that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as (the perpetrator).

This definition covers a very wide range of behaviours. Acts of minor thoughtlessness and rudeness are ‘anti-social’. So too, of course, are serious crimes. In recognition of the fact that the statutory definition ‘lacks specificity and measurability’, the Home Office has developed a ‘typology of anti-social behaviour’ which provides a guide to the categories of behaviour that are generally assumed to be anti-social by practitioners and the public. These categories comprise behaviours that cause major concern to the public, but are not serious crimes. Serious crime has a different definition within the police service. It refers to rape, murder, GBH and other serious offences.

The London ASB Strategy adopts the same approach as the Home Office typology, in focusing on behaviour in the middle range between minor incivilities and serious serious crime. Thus, for the purposes of the strategy, ASB is deemed as minor incivilities that are serious is behaviour that is serious enough to merit intervention from the relevant authorities, but not so serious as to a crime that would demand criminal prosecution and punishment. Individual acts are not necessarily criminal; or, if they are criminal, they may in isolation constitute relatively minor offences. Very often the harm caused by ASB is a consequence of the cumulative impact of repeated incidents.

Most Londoners encounter ASB from time to time. It can take many forms – boisterous behaviour on public transport, rowdy drunks on the streets, litter and graffiti, abandoned cars, noisy neighbours. For some of us, it is an occasional irritant. For others it is more intrusive, and some people’s lives are blighted by relentless, intrusive ASB. In some cases individuals are singled out as targets, and this is particularly unsettling. The corrosive and debilitating effect of persistent exposure to ASB – including the potential effect on the mental and physical health of victims – cannot be underestimated.

ASB can affect whole communities, not just individuals. Where it is frequent, it can amplify people’s worries about crime, and lead to a sense that crime and disorder is are spiralling out of control. If this sense becomes widespread in a neighbourhood, it has tangible consequences. Investment in the area – whether financial or emotional – may be withdrawn. Regeneration may be hampered or blocked. Where problems of disorder are brought under control, on the other hand, people may regain a sense of optimism about their neighbourhoods, and communities’ capacity to regulate crime and disorder may increase. Tackling anti-social behaviour effectively is the first step towards civil renewal.

The main forms of ASB

Interpersonal/malicious ASB is behaviour directed against specific individuals or groups, that causes harassment, alarm or distress. Examples include:

- intimidation/threats by neighbours
- minor violence
- hoax calls
- vandalism directed at individuals or groups
- serious verbal abuse (eg directed at public sector workers)

Environmental ASB is behaviour that – deliberately or through carelessness – degrades the local environment, such as:

- dog-fouling
- allowing animals to roam
- noise nuisance • setting fire to rubbish • graffiti (eg on the transport network) • abandoned vehicles • littering • fly-tipping

**ASB restricting access to public space** refers to threatening or physically obstructive behaviours that stop people using public spaces, such as: • intimidating behaviour by groups of youths • drug abuse in public places • under-age drinking and rowdy behaviour • street drinking/drunkenness • night-time alcohol-related disorder • aggressive begging • soliciting and kerb-crawling • obstructive use of vehicles • use of motor-bikes on pavements/in parks

**The national strategy for tackling ASB** Various factors have produced today’s problems of ASB in London and elsewhere. There have been some broad cultural shifts in urban life in Britain over the last half-century. City-dwellers now tend to lead more anonymous lives, with a reduced sense of community. Traditions of deference to authority have weakened – whether it is the authority of the family head, the teacher, the employer or the police officer. Binge-drinking and use of illicit drugs have increased. We live in a more affluent age, with great emphasis on individualism and on consumerist values, and this has brought both benefits and costs. A growth in levels of ASB can be seen as one of the least desirable consequences of the combined effects of these social trends.

However, that is only one part of the picture. Over the last fifty years, the ways that the economy has evolved, and some of the policy responses to this evolution, have accelerated problems of disorder. These problems are at their worst in large cities. Within cities, deprived neighbourhoods suffer the most. Areas of public housing are vulnerable, especially where large concentrations of poor, socially excluded families have developed. It can be argued that a consequence of many social and economic developments over the last half-century has been a decline in the social capital of these areas. Until recently, many of the resultant problems of ASB were not ‘owned’ by any single agency. The police had a responsibility to tackle crime, but ASB was not a performance priority. Schools’ responsibilities for the behaviour of their pupils did not necessarily extend far beyond the school gate. Housing departments often took a relatively narrow view of their responsibilities to their tenants. Dealing with ASB was ‘core business’ for none of these agencies.

In recognition of the high levels of public concern about ASB, central Government has undertaken a large number of initiatives that encourage and help key agencies to tackle ASB effectively. Legislative measures include the passing of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the Licensing Act 2003, which introduced new powers and extended existing powers for taking enforcement action. In January 2004, the Home Office Anti-Social Behaviour Unit launched the TOGETHER campaign to support delivery of ASB action. The main elements of this campaign are outlined below.

**Elements of the TOGETHER campaign**

- The TOGETHER Actionline: a helpline for practitioners providing advice and assistance on all the tools available for tackling ASB, and supported by the TOGETHER website (www.together.gov.uk).
- The TOGETHER Academy: a centre of excellence which provides training, conferences and specialist master classes for all relevant practitioners.
- The provision of funding for local ASB work in every area of England and Wales.
- ASB Prosecutors: a new national team in the Crown Prosecution Service supporting all CPS prosecutors dealing with ASB-related cases, and promoting better partnership working between local prosecutors and local agencies.
- The establishment of TOGETHER Action Areas and trailblazers, in which pioneering initiatives are being undertaken on:
  - **nuisance neighbours**, eg through the Nuisance Neighbours Panel and by providing additional help for parents
  - **begging** – including a trailblazing campaign in Camden and Westminster
  - **environmental crime** – through various operations including Scrap-it, Gate-it and Scrub-it.
- Victims and witnesses first: action research and funding to identify and promote effective ways of supporting victims and witnesses of ASB.

In line with the national strategy, local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) throughout the country are now engaged in an impressive and varied range of activities focused on problems of ASB in their respective areas.

**ASB in London**

London is one of the world’s most populous and diverse capital cities. It is a city with an immensely rich history and vibrant cultural life, which attracts vast numbers of tourists and other visitors. London is Europe’s premier financial centre, and contains both large concentrations of wealth and large concentrations of poverty (often alongside each other). Like any large, modern city, London also has its share of problems of ASB.

Indeed, at a general level, concern about ASB appears to be higher in London than elsewhere in England and Wales. For example, the 2003/04 British Crime Survey found that 25 per cent of London respondents perceived the levels of disorder in their area to be ‘high’, compared to 17 per cent across England and Wales as a whole. Within London there is a marked inner-outer split, with 32 per cent of people in inner London perceiving disorder as ‘high’, compared to 22 per cent in outer London.

What are the specific concerns of Londoners with respect to ASB? The findings of the 2002 London Household Survey, conducted by the GLA (and part funded by the Housing Corporation), provides some insight into this. When asked about problems in their neighbourhoods, a number of ASB issues were described as a ‘serious problem’ by respondents:

| ASB issue | % respondents describing as ‘serious problem’ | |----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------| | Litter & rubbish in the streets | 28% | | Vandalism and hooliganism | 24% | | Graffiti | 18% | | Presence of drug dealers/users | 17% | | Troublesome teenagers/children | 16% |

In the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service’s safer neighbourhood teams the police have been consulting local people about their concerns and the problems that make them feel unsafe. The most frequently mentioned issues were:

- Youth crime
- Anti-social behaviour in general
- Anti-social behaviour by motorists
- Graffiti. It is difficult to assess the extent to which Londoners’ perceptions of ASB reflect actual incidents, because of the limitations of current methods of measuring ASB. A national one-day count of ASB was conducted in September 2003, drawing on information from a range of statutory and voluntary organisations. Across London almost 13,000 incidents of ASB were reported, over half of which related to environmental ASB. This included rubbish (17 per cent), criminal damage and vandalism (16 per cent), noise (11 per cent) and vehicle nuisance (10 per cent). The remainder comprised: nuisance (9 per cent), rowdy behaviour (8 per cent), begging (6 per cent), abandoned vehicles (6 per cent), harassment (6 per cent), drugs/substance misuse (5 per cent), prostitution (2 per cent) and animals (2 per cent). On the basis of the day-count figures it is estimated that over 3 million incidents are reported in London annually, with estimated costs of £60 to £150 million.

Another source of information on ASB in London is calls recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service Computer-Aided Dispatch Management Information System (CADMIS). In the three years to March 31st 2004, just under 2.5 million CADMIS incidents related to ASB (of a total of 23 million). Of these, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) involved ASB that restricted people’s use of public space, the rest being interpersonal/malicious ASB (15 per cent) and environmental ASB (12 per cent). These ASB incidents were concentrated across the inner London boroughs with the highest densities being in Westminster and Camden.

**Londoners’ views on ASB**

Qualitative research conducted to inform this strategy, in the form of focus groups with Londoners from different backgrounds, demonstrates that an enormously wide range of behaviours can fall under the heading of ASB – from dog-fouling, littering and general rudeness through to intimidation, homophobic and racist abuse, and drink-related violence. But it appears that while ASB takes many specific forms, there is a common thread in much of it. This common thread is a lack of respect: more specifically, ASB is said to reflect the perpetrators’ lack of respect for other people and/or for their environment.

Notwithstanding survey and police data, which indicate relatively high levels of ASB in London, it seems that a substantial majority of Londoners are happy with where they live. Both the GLA Annual London Survey of 2003 and the London Household Survey of 2002 found that just under 80 per cent of respondents were fairly or very satisfied with their local neighbourhoods. This suggests that local problems of ASB have only a minor impact on the lives of most Londoners. It is clear, however, that the consequences of ASB can be devastating for the individuals and communities who suffer the most.

**Why have an ASB strategy for London?** The decision to develop this strategy was initially taken by the Crime and Disorder Plus Steering Group (which brings together London-wide organisations to co-ordinate action on community safety), in recognition of the signatory agencies’ shared responsibilities with respect to ASB in London.

As signatories to this strategy, we are committed to tackling ASB in London in a co-ordinated and effective way. We share a concern to ensure that efforts to reduce ASB are properly tailored to the unique needs of this city. London is set apart from other large cities in Britain by its sheer scale and the resulting complexity of its local government and community safety structures. The great diversity of London’s population, and the city’s role as a seat of government, and a tourist and financial centre, also make the task of developing effective and comprehensive ASB policies more challenging. ASB solutions that work elsewhere may not necessarily be right for London.

This strategy provides a regional framework for ASB work. As such, it will bridge the gap between the national strategy on ASB and the local programmes of action being developed and implemented by the 33 CDRPs that exist across London. Most front-line work on ASB in London is carried out by these partnerships, as it should be. Each CDRP has an ASB co-ordinator, and has developed an ASB strategy as part of its general crime and disorder strategy. But we, the cross-London agencies, also have vital roles to play in relation to ASB:

- We provide strategic direction for local services.
- We provide expertise, training and support for local services.
- We provide front-line services ourselves.

The London ASB strategy will clarify and enhance these roles. In so doing, it will also help to ensure that gaps in provision are filled, and that duplication of effort in ASB work is avoided. It will support regional-level action against ASB where this is deemed more cost-effective and efficient than local action. It will ensure that best practise is passed on and replicated. Perhaps most importantly, the strategy will facilitate a co-ordinated approach to ASB both within and between the London boroughs. In order to develop a strategy that will meet the needs of local partnerships as well as reflect the policies and goals of our own agencies, we have developed this strategy in a two-stage process. The first stage entailed discussion among the signatory agencies, and initial contact with CDRPs and other interested bodies, with the aim of producing a consultation document. The document ‘The London Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy: Proposals for Consultation with Stakeholders’ was produced in April 2004. This document set out the strategy’s key elements, and invited the views of stakeholders – that is, statutory and non-statutory agencies and partnerships engaged in tackling ASB across London – about the details of the strategy.

The second stage of strategy development involved the collection and analysis of responses to the consultation document. (Respondents to the consultation are listed in the appendix to this document.) These responses were then assessed against the capacity and resources of the signatory bodies. This strategy document represents the outcome of this process. 2 Principles of the strategy

Any strategy for tackling ASB needs to be clear about what it is trying to do. Whilst accepting that whether or not behaviours are anti-social depends to some extent on the vulnerability of the victim and the degree of upset they experience, we need broad definitions of ASB, so that the parameters of the strategy are clear, and the different agencies involved know that they are using the same language and have the same objectives. The strategy must also be clear about the reasons for tackling ASB, and the end results that are desired.

As the signatories to this document, we have a shared vision on tackling ASB. This vision is expressed in the following principles.

1 ASB must be tackled effectively If ignored, ASB can ruin the lives of individuals. Serious ASB may make its victims feel extremely uncomfortable and fearful in their own homes or local communities; it may also have a severe impact on their mental or physical health. At a broader level, ASB can contribute to neighbourhood decline and weaken communities. Alcohol-related ASB in town centres causes serious damage – to the individuals caught up in it, to the physical environment, and to businesses. It is therefore critically important that local agencies take effective action against ASB, in the variety of forms in which it appears.

2 Effective action on ASB demands a balance between rigorous enforcement and prevention When ASB is creating a problem, the first action must be to put a stop to it. Enforcement is therefore always a key element of efforts to tackle ASB. Local agencies now have a wide range of tools available for tackling enforcement action against ASB. These powers include Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs), Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) Anti-Social Behaviour Contracts, injunctions, parenting orders, child safety orders and dispersal orders, (a full list is available on the TOGETHER website). AASBOs, in particular, are a powerful but flexible remedy, which can have a real and significant impact on the behaviour of ASB perpetrators. Social landlords have some specific tools that they can use to prohibit or contain ASB by tenants: demoted tenancies, possession, and introductory and starter tenancies.

The Anti-Social Behaviour unit (ASBU) at the Home Office and its TOGETHER Campaign have worked successfully with London boroughs to drive forward these approaches with a clear message that ASB should be tackled and not tolerated, e.g. Crack house closures in Hackney and Hammersmith and Fulham. They have encouraged London boroughs to actively improve and sustain levels of enforcement in their boroughs, e.g. Camden has employed ASBOs to address drug markets and street robbery in the Kings Cross area.

To ensure that responses to ASB are sustainable, it is important to undertake preventive as well as enforcement activity. Enforcement measures used in isolation may, in some circumstances, displace rather than resolve ASB problems; or may further alienate individuals or groups who are already disengaged from wider society. Whilst supporting the Government’s line of not tolerating anti-social behaviour, balancing enforcement and prevention means:

- Tackling the **underlying causes** of ASB (e.g., in terms of family problems as well as wider social, cultural and economic factors) as well as the symptoms.
- Combining enforcement action against perpetrators with **packages of intervention and support**.
- Using strategies of **diversion, mediation** and **reparation** wherever these are appropriate.
- Ensuring that responses are **proportionate** to the seriousness of the behaviour, and that they **graduate** from less to more stringent measures, as required.

### 3 A balanced approach to ASB

ASB often involves clashes of values and standards. Young people look for excitement and action; their elders may prefer peace and quiet. People have different levels of tolerance for noise, for untidiness, for rowdiness. Some ASB is so grossly thoughtless, or so obviously malicious, that most people would want and expect the authorities to take firm action against it. But sometimes matters are less clear-cut. How intimidating do groups of young people have to be before action is needed? How loud can a neighbour play music before it becomes an unacceptable intrusion? What level of rowdiness at pub-closing time can just be put down to harmless high spirits?

Work to tackle ASB should involve partnership working to consider what is order; and what levels of tolerance could be expected of those exposed to disorder. Definitions of order, and levels of tolerance, differ widely within and between the various communities that make up London’s population. Negotiating levels of acceptable behaviour has to be done in an even-handed and open way whilst dealing firmly with those whose behaviour is unacceptable. 4 Measures to tackle ASB must be consistent with human rights legislation

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that:

Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

Victims of serious ASB are, clearly, denied their right to respect for private and family life and home.

Another human rights consideration is the need for compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, when tackling ASB committed by children. Article 3 (1) of the Convention requires that:

In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

Article 3 (2) reads:

States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians or other individuals legally responsible for him or her and to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures.

In a great deal of public debate about ASB, it is a spoken or unspoken assumption that ASB is essentially misbehaviour by children and young people. In fact, ASB can be committed by people of all ages; and children and young people are frequently victims of ASB. Moreover, where children or young people are perpetrators of ASB, particular sensitivity is needed in responding to it. Frequently, there is a need to address risk factors – for example, relating to parenting or educational problems – that can underlie the commission of ASB by children. 3 Aims and objectives

The goal of maintaining standards of civil behaviour runs like a thread through the work of all public services. Education, social services, leisure services, youth services, transport, housing, the police, probation and fire services all play a part in minimizing ASB. The range of local and regional programmes in London that impact on ASB in some way – or promote socially acceptable behaviour – is vast.

The London ASB Strategy is not intended to review or even chart the totality of local and regional action that has a bearing on ASB. Nor does it intend to ‘performance manage’ work being carried out by London’s 33 crime and disorder partnerships that specifically focuses on ASB. The strategy recognises that these local partnerships, and the agencies that comprise them, are best placed to identify local problems and concerns, and to design and implement responses.

The overarching aim of the London ASB Strategy is to promote effective, co-ordinated action against ASB at both local and regional levels. This entails providing various forms of practical assistance and support to local partnerships, and building capacity for communication and co-operation within and between boroughs. It also involves identifying gaps in existing provision, and filling these gaps with regional work where this brings benefits in terms of efficiency or general effectiveness.

Pursuing its overarching aim of promoting effective, co-ordinated action against ASB, the strategy will support the work of the Home Office towards its second Public Service Agreement target for 2005/06 to 2007/08. This target is to:

Reassure the public, reduce the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour, and build confidence in the criminal justice system without compromising fairness.

Performance indicators for this target include levels of perception of ASB, as measured by the British Crime Survey.

The London ASB Strategy is focussed on five key objectives, outlined below. These objectives are the basis of a wide-ranging programme of action to which all the strategy partners are committed. Although some elements of the work are already underway, the main part of the programme of action will run for three years from April 2005, so as to coincide with the timetable for production of crime and disorder strategies by CDRPs. Details of the programme of action are provided in Chapters Four and Five of this document. The five objectives of the London ASB strategy

1 To energise and support local action by CDRPs and their partners. Most work to tackle ASB is carried out at a local level, as it should be. We already support this work in a wide variety of ways: through the provision of funding, training and technical support. We are committed to extending and strengthening this support.

2 To improve co-ordination and co-operation between local agencies and partnerships. Effective action against ASB depends on co-operation between local agencies and between partnerships. We will encourage partnership-working at a local level and will promote and facilitate co-ordination across borough boundaries.

3 To supplement local action with cross-London work, where this is needed. Under this strategy, we are launching a range of regional initiatives that will directly address ASB. The delivery of programmes on a regional rather than a local basis sometimes brings particular benefits in terms of efficiency or effectiveness. Regional initiatives are to be undertaken in the following four broad areas:

- neighbourhood policing
- transport
- fire
- housing and planning.

4 To ensure consistency and sustainability in policy responses to ASB across London. Different strands of social policy can pull against each other, as can different approaches to tackling ASB. We aim to ensure that: a) the London ASB Strategy is internally consistent; and b) other work and strategic initiatives undertaken by the cross-London agencies are in harmony with this strategy.

5 To identify regional structures for tackling ASB. We shall only achieve Objectives 1–4 if responsibility for the strategy is allocated to regional bodies that are competent to pursue them. We shall ensure that this happens. 4 Programme of action

Objective 1: To energise and support local action by CDRPs and their partners Regional agencies are already engaged in a large amount of work to support local action against ASB. However, more needs to be done in order to:

- energise local action and maintain the momentum
- help local partnerships locate funding
- provide training for practitioners
- develop guidance for practitioners and identify and promulgate good practice.

a Maintaining the momentum in tackling ASB We will ensure that the subject of ASB remains high on the local crime and disorder agenda, and that proactive policies to tackle ASB are implemented locally.

- The MPS, City of London Police and LFEPA are represented on CDRPs and are therefore well-placed to influence local strategies. As providers of front-line services, these agencies are fully engaged in community-based consultation and the development and implementation of local initiatives on ASB. All CDRPs are required by Statutory Instrument to invite the BTP to participate in the formulation and implementation of strategies.
- Through their involvement in CDRPs, the MPS, City of London Police and LFEPA will also help to ensure that problems of alcohol-related disorder associated with licensed premises are effectively tackled on a local basis.
- The MPA is also represented on CDRPs, and can thereby seek to ensure that local community safety work is consistent with the ASB priorities set out in the London Policing Plan, and with the priorities of the London ASB Strategy.
- ALG will ensure that ASB remains high on the local political agenda by placing ASB as a standing item for consideration by the ALG’s Crime and Public Protection Steering Group, and through ongoing work to shape future policy and legislation, eg work on the London Local Authorities Bill.
- ALG members’ groups and forums will allow representatives from the London boroughs to come together to share experiences and expertise in tackling ASB, and thereby help to maintain their boroughs’ focus on the key issues.
- ALG is well-placed to develop councillors’ awareness and knowledge of ASB issues. Over the next three years ALG expects to include ASB among the topics covered in its programme of conferences and training. • GOL will ensure that ASB is prioritised in CDRP crime and disorder strategies for 2005. • GOL will ensure that CDRPs are linked into the national TOGETHER campaign on ASB and will support CDRPs which are nominated as Trailblazers or Action Areas as part of the TOGETHER campaign. • BTP & TfL will ensure that considerations of transport-related ASB are incorporated within CDRP strategies and processes. • YJB, through Crime Concern, will support key ASB preventive remedies that are locally-based, including Youth Inclusion and Support Panels (YISPs) and Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIPs) – for example through training, quality assurance and providing networking opportunities.

b Helping local partnerships to identify funding opportunities for ASB work There is extensive funding available to local agencies and partnerships for (directly or indirectly) tackling ASB. However, there are untapped sources, both from national government and elsewhere. Additionally, local resources may already be available but could be deployed more effectively to tackle local ASB problems. • ALG will work with its members to highlight the need for targeted and flexible funding sources for locally-led initiatives to tackle ASB. • In the medium term there may be some scope for directing ALG grant aid for community organisations to ASB work. • For the future, it is expected that Local Area Agreements will result in simplified and more flexible funding streams to local authorities via regional government; a key theme will be Building Safer and Stronger Communities. • YJB has secured funding for expansion of YISPs and YIPs through Spending Review 2004; this will be used to expand provision in London from April 2005.

c Providing training for ASB practitioners Many ASB practitioners, including ASB Co-ordinators, are new to the work, and need training. Whilst there is some national provision, much training is best provided regionally; it sustains networks of local practitioners whilst providing economies of scale. • GOL will develop its training programme for ASB co-ordinators, started in January 2004, and will extend this to other appropriate groups throughout 2005 and beyond. • GOL will ensure CDRPs are accessing and linked into the Home Office TOGETHER Academy training programme. • The MPS ASB Team is committed to supporting a continuing programme of training for multi-agency groups, the new Safer Neighbourhoods teams and local police managers. Its work also includes the exchange and collation of initiatives across London and the UK. • The MPS ASB Team has established a practitioners’ forum comprising police practitioners from most London boroughs. Other legal and professional practitioners are also becoming involved in the forum. • The MPS will support the ALG to extend and enhance training provision on ASB in and around licensed premises (ie training for licensees, door staff and others). • GLA will work with ALG in order to develop child-specific training provision for practitioners within local and regional structures. Training will cover issues such as child protection, children’s rights, and referral information. • ALG provides training and guidance on ASB and a broad range of public realm issues through its Transport and Environment Committee. • YJB will ensure YOT staff receive briefings on the use of new ASB powers, and participate fully in their implementation with respect to young people. • ASB strategy partners will work with the London Retail Consortium to develop training on tackling ASB for staff in London businesses.

d Developing guidance for ASB practitioners The TOGETHER Academy, Actionline and website provide wide-ranging guidance and advice to ASB practitioners. Other agencies and partnerships also provide guidance on tackling ASB: for example the Housing Corporation Bank of Good Practice, and the good practice database of the Registered Social Landlords’ Crime and Nuisance Group. We will ensure that practitioners have ready access to all the available advice, and that any gaps in existing guidance are identified and filled. • The ALG provides regular guidance on all aspects of enviro-crime, including ASB, through its Transport and Environment Committee. • The Housing Corporation has issued Statutory Management Guidance (August 2004) for housing associations which covers the production of ASB policies and procedures. It has produced separate guidance (July 2004) on eligibility for housing, tenancy demotions, and evictions on grounds of ASB. • The Housing Corporation will continue to use its web-based Bank of Good Practice (www.bankofgoodpractice.org) to promulgate housing association good practice in tackling ASB. • Strategy partners (to be identified by Crime and Disorder Plus) will establish common methods of identifying, developing, evaluating and promulgating good practice in tackling ASB.

Objective 2: To improve co-ordination and co-operation between local agencies and partnerships There is a need for better co-ordination within and especially between local partnerships. This will involve: • tackling ASB • improving information on local ASB activity • improving information on regional ASB activity • co-ordinating enforcement within and across boroughs • co-ordinating support for ASB victims, witnesses and perpetrators • improving links between CDRPs and the court process and improving support for victims and witnesses • facilitating data exchange • helping to engage local people and promoting communication strategies • helping to get local agencies engaged in ASB work.

a Tracking borough activity on ASB There is now an impressive amount of local action against ASB, but little shared knowledge about what is in hand. Boroughs need to know what their neighbours are doing to respond to ASB, so that they anticipate displacement and co-ordinate activities where possible. They also need to be able to contact relevant personnel in other boroughs. • GOL will continue its existing system of tracking borough activity on ASB to ensure that information on local initiatives and programmes is available to all London ASB co-ordinators, and other relevant practitioners. This information will be shared with ASBU and available to boroughs. b Tracking regional activity on ASB The range of service provision at regional level that has relevance to ASB is enormous and complex. Local practitioners need to be fully aware of regional initiatives that have a bearing on their work. An overview of regional activity is also needed for strategic development.

- In parallel with the local mapping exercise described above, GOL will mount a mapping exercise of regional activity currently undertaken by regional partners.
- This information will be shared with ASBU and boroughs.

c Co-ordinating enforcement within and across boroughs Those responsible for ASB do not confine themselves to a single borough, and increasingly, conditions attached to ASBOs are general, rather than place-specific. Local areas need to have access to information on all current ASBOs, including the conditions they impose. Regionally, it is also important to monitor the profile of those who are subject to orders in terms of age, ethnicity and gender.

- GOL will support development of an ASBO register of people subject to ASBOs in London (including ASBOs that are passed as part of criminal proceedings). The register will include particulars of the individual, the conditions attached to the order, the duration of the order, the authority that sought the order and the court that granted it.
- Entries will be submitted and updated by ASB co-ordinators. A possible location of this could be the existing London Analysts’ Support Site which has secure, password-restricted access.
- The ASBO register will be used to assist ASBO enforcement across London, and also to carry out monitoring of ASBO recipients in terms of age, ethnicity and gender.

d Co-ordinating intervention with perpetrators Those who are responsible for ASB, especially young and other vulnerable people, often need active intervention and support. Whilst their behaviour is unacceptable, they themselves may experience a range of problems, for example relating to mental health, alcohol or other substance misuse or special educational needs. They risk falling through gaps in service provision, by falling on the boundaries between boroughs or between services’ referral criteria.

- The task of developing new mechanisms for co-ordinating intervention with perpetrators is complex. A working party to take forward this task will be established; the regional agencies that will be involved in this working group are yet to be identified.

- The working party will first identify the key issues that need to be addressed, and then consider possible ways of tackling these issues (e.g., through building on current provisions for Individual Support Orders which can be made with respect to ASBO recipients aged 10 to 17).

- There is a particular need for mechanisms for co-ordinating a) packages of intervention with ABC and ASBO recipients and b) referral procedures between housing authorities with respect to evicted ASB perpetrators.

- A key issue to be addressed here is the provision of training for key workers – including ASB practitioners – on how to recognise signs of mental distress in young people; this ties in with work under the Mayor’s Children and Young People’s Strategy.

**e Improving local co-ordination with the courts and CPS and support for ASB victims and witnesses**

ASB practitioners need closer links with the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts, to improve their confidence in the capacity of these agencies to respond to ASB. Practitioners need to feel confident that:

- The courts are responsive in dealing with applications for ASBOs, parenting orders, child safety orders and dispersal orders.
- Breaches of orders are effectively and consistently dealt with.
- Serious offenders are dealt with through criminal proceedings, wherever appropriate – thus obviating the need to use stand-alone ASBOs as a substitute for criminal prosecution.

It is also critically important that victims and witnesses of ASB are supported, and that this support takes into account their particular needs (for example, relating to the fact that they often live in very close proximity to perpetrators).

- The cross-London agencies are committed to developing a framework for improved liaison between local ASB practitioners, the CPS and the courts. The lead agencies for this work will be identified by Crime and Disorder Plus.

- This project may involve collaboration with the London Criminal Justice Board; and court user groups attached to courts may provide suitable forums for local liaison.

- The project will build on ongoing work by the CPS to extend their involvement in CDRPs, and the provision of ASB expert prosecutors (funded by the TOGETHER campaign) and ASB response courts in London and elsewhere. These ongoing developments have the aims of improving and expediting the prosecution of ASB-related cases, and promoting partnership working between the courts, CPS and local agencies.

- The project will also explore ways of extending community-based victims support schemes and court-based witness services to ASB victims and witnesses.

- The MPS is leading on a pan-London ASBO training project encompassing the CPS, barristers, court staff, YOTS, housing associations and police. The training will cover the application process, ASBO hearings, and the policing of ASBOs.

- The pan-London ASBO project will also involve the standardisation of all ASBO case papers, to ensure consistency in ASBO applications and policing across London, and the production of a CD-Rom containing all relevant information and templates.

- YJB will promote the involvement of YOT staff in court proceedings relating to ASBO applications, Individual Support Orders and ASBO breaches.

- YJB will encourage the use of restorative justice options with victims of ASB that has been committed by young people referred to YOTs.

f Facilitating data gathering, analysis and exchange

Within CDRPs there needs to be better information exchange on ASB problems and perpetrators. Local agencies are often poorly equipped to measure and map local ASB incidents. Furthermore, there is still a degree of reluctance about the exchange of personal data on ASB perpetrators between CDRP agencies – which increases the chances that action will be taken only when enforcement brings perpetrators in front of the courts.

- The MPA and MPS will collaborate with GOL and the GLA Data Management and Analysis Group to develop guidance on data-related issues, for example on:

  - how to record and measure ASB incidents
  - the management of case work information
  - general performance measurement and monitoring and evaluation of specific ASB initiatives.

- It is important that local agencies should gather data in forms that allow for cross-borough comparisons and analysis. In collaboration with the MPA and MPS, GOL will develop a minimum functional specification for local ASB information systems.

- The government is considering strengthening information sharing requirements in a review of the Crime and Disorder Act; when more is known about this, GOL will consider how best to develop protocols for the exchange within (and between) partnerships of data on individuals subject to ASBOs, ISOs and ABCs. Effective information exchange on ASB perpetrators does not only play a crucial part in enforcement activity, but also in preventive work with individuals at risk of engaging in crime and ASB.

- Local agencies and partnerships should be able to carry out equality impact assessments on their ASB work, as there are risks that enforcement tools could serve to amplify discrimination and social exclusion. The GLA will develop guidance on mounting these assessments.

- The Housing Corporation will collect (from May 2005) annual data on housing association lettings, tenancy demotions and evictions related to ASB. Other data relating to ASB are collected on an ongoing basis.

- The MPS is exploring ways in which police ASB data can be collected from London boroughs, to gain insight into the levels and kinds of ASB being perpetrated in different areas.

### g Helping to engage local people and promoting communications strategies

Local efforts to address ASB will only have a significant impact if they draw in local people. Community engagement and community capacity building is a regional, as well as a national, priority. This work entails involving local people in ASB action, prioritising the local issues of concern, and feeding back progress on ASB to communities – so that people develop confidence in the willingness and capacity of local agencies to tackle ASB. The development of communications strategies is hence a critical element of community engagement work.

- At the regional level, the MPA and MPS are shifting their community engagement agenda from consultation and securing consent to providing much fuller involvement of communities in local work on crime and ASB.

- The locally-based Safer Neighbourhood policing teams, currently being established under the MPA/MPS Safer Neighbourhoods Programme, aim to engage directly with local communities and agencies in order to identify local problems and foster a shared sense of responsibility for tackling them.

- The MPA will develop a Community Engagement Strategy, which will take full account of the need to involve local people and businesses in the policing of ASB. This will provide a framework within which local police and CDRP plans for community involvement can be developed.

- The MPA will ensure that the diversity agenda is addressed as part of the Community Engagement Strategy; the ALG and GLA will work with regional partners to support this development.

- The GLA, in conjunction with the MPA and MPS, will undertake work to promote dialogue between younger and older members of local communities, to improve social cohesion and reduce perceptions and fear of ASB.

- GOL will encourage CDRPs to develop local communications strategies which will focus on building public confidence in local action on ASB.

- The Housing Corporation requires housing associations to consult residents in drawing up their ASB policies, and to be responsive to residents’ views and priorities.

**Helping to get local agencies on board**

Effective local work on ASB depends on the full commitment of all CDRP partners. In the past, some partners have been less engaged than others. The cross-London agencies will exert what levers they can to encourage fuller participation of relevant local agencies in CDRPs.

- ALG will work through the relevant committees to encourage fuller engagement of local education authorities, social services and other local authority departments in CDRPs.
- To encourage greater involvement of health agencies in CDRPs, GLA will work through the London Health Commission.
- GOL will support GLA and ALG’s efforts to promote local partnership; for example, GOL will encourage the engagement of health agencies by working through the five London Strategic Health Authorities.
- The MPS will work in partnership with the London Retail Consortium to develop responses to ASB within business and retail premises.
- The Housing Corporation will stress the importance of housing association engagement with CDRPs, either directly or through bodies that represent several associations.

**Objective 3: To supplement local action with cross-London work, where this is needed**

Some forms of ASB are best tackled by regional as well as local agencies. This is especially true when displacement is an issue, or when perpetrators are highly mobile. Regional action can also bring benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness or efficiency. In recognition of these benefits, a range of regional initiatives to address ASB directly are being launched by this strategy. These regional initiatives are to be undertaken in the following four broad areas:

- neighbourhood policing
- transport
- fire
- housing and planning. The Mayor is responsible for setting the budget for policing, transport and the fire brigade in London, and will ensure that addressing ASB is a funding priority over the lifetime of this strategy.

In addition to the regional work described here, the cross-London agencies are engaged in many other regional programmes that have a bearing on ASB. These other programmes are not, however, covered by this strategy because they address ASB only as one dimension of wider community safety and social welfare concerns. The wider programmes include work to tackle alcohol-related violence under the GLA’s London Agenda for Action on Alcohol, which ties in with the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy.

Much regional work addressing issues of children, young people and education also has an important ASB dimension. Key initiatives include the DfES London Challenge. This initiative aims to improve secondary schools in London and encompasses multi-agency work to reduce truancy and exclusions across the Capital.

a Neighbourhood policing

Effective ASB work must address specific local concerns and problems, and one of the best ways of doing this is through dedicated teams of neighbourhood-based officers.

- The joint MPA/MPS Safer Neighbourhoods Programme is part of the National Reassurance Programme. It aims to reduce the fear of crime and disorder and improve the environment and quality of life in local communities, through the provision of dedicated, community-based policing teams.
- Each Safer Neighbourhoods Team will have a minimum staffing of at least one sergeant, two constables and three PCSOs. When the programme is fully rolled out, all areas of London will have their own dedicated policing teams.
- The BTP are undertaking a similar approach on the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway with the establishment of Group Station teams.
- By working in partnership with other agencies and carrying out consultation, the teams will identify the issues of most concern to local people and will respond to these issues through focused policing activity.
- GOL, GLA and MPS will develop and implement regional responses to problems associated with begging.
- GOL, GLA and MPS will develop and implement regional responses to problems associated with alcohol-related disorder. • Through the Capital Standards programme, GOL, GLA, MPS and other partners will support a consistent response to environmental crime and provide tools for schools and other organisations to make London cleaner and greener. • Locally-based neighbourhood and street warden schemes have an important role to play in local work to combat ASB. Schemes that are funded by ODPM will continue to receive support and guidance from GOL. • The MPS will work in partnership with the London Retail Consortium to develop responses to ASB within business and retail premises.

b Transport Transport-related ASB can seriously disrupt the lives of Londoners. By its nature, it must be responded to at regional as well as local level. • BTP and TfL/London Underground have produced a joint Community Safety Strategy for 2004-2005. ASB issues addressed by the strategy include begging, ticket touting and inconsiderate behaviour by groups of youths in stations. • BTP has successfully obtained a large number of ASBOs against prolific ASB offenders which has had a significant impact on the level of ASB on the rail network. • TfL has funded a transport-focused Operational Command Unit (TOCU) in the MPS that targets low level crime and disorder issues on London’s surface transport. • TfL will continue to support and fund existing transport policing resources on London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway. • TfL will continue to support the work of London Underground operational staff who gather evidence for ASBO applications against regular London Underground offenders. • TfL is funding 200 additional BTP officers to provide high visibility reassurance policing on the Underground, major transport interchanges and Docklands Light Railway. • TfL is drafting a Policing Plan (encompassing the work of BTP and TOCU) to include plans for common approaches to transport policing and ASB issues in London, such as anti-graffiti tactics, the use of relevant orders, co-ordination of CCTV facilities and ways of tackling ticket touting. • TfL will ensure that there is co-ordination of bus CCTV activities with the MPS and bus operators. • TfL will assist in producing CCTV images for offenders for identification by schools, YOTs and Safer Neighbourhood Teams. c Fire

A significant proportion of ASB in London takes the form of arson and fire-setting. Hoax calls to emergency services are also a large problem. A regional response to these problems is required.

- LFEPA has published its first London Safety Plan for 2004/05, which includes plans for tackling fire-related ASB.
- LFEPA’s youth engagement programme, Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE), currently operates in five London boroughs. It is a week-long course aiming to improve young people’s lives, and primarily targeted at young people who have engaged, or may be at risk of engaging, in ASB. The Authority will continue to seek external funding to sustain and expand the LIFE programme across London.
- A pan-London Arson Task Force (ATF) has been established with funding from the ODPM. The initiative involves LFEPA and other agencies, and aims to find sustainable solutions in the 60 wards with the highest arson levels. LFEPA will absorb the lessons learned during the life of the ATF and share this knowledge with others.
- LFEPA’s Juvenile Fire-setters Intervention Scheme seeks to address the fire-setting behaviour of children and young people across London, by working with the young people in their own homes.
- In addition to the above, LFEPA is involved in various other projects focussing on young people, including a course provided in partnership with the Prince’s Trust, the Prison Me No Way and Best Buddy projects, and Junior Citizens Events.
- LFEPA has reached agreements with telephone companies which allow for the disablement of telephones regularly used to make hoax calls to the fire service. LFEPA is also establishing social interventions to reduce incidents of hoax calls further.

d Housing and planning

The nature of social housing is such that many of the most severe ASB problems tend to occur within this sector. As a growing proportion of social housing is now managed by housing associations, these agencies – with the support of the Housing Corporation – have a vital role to play in addressing problems of ASB, alongside local authority housing departments. Broader and longer-term planning issues, particularly as set out in the Mayor’s London Plan, also have a direct relevance to work to prevent ASB.

- The Housing Corporation will continue to promote a balanced approach by housing associations in tackling ASB, as part of their contribution to neighbourhood management.

- Under Section 12 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, housing associations must produce and publish policies and procedures on ASB by 30 December 2004. As the lead strategic body in relation to London’s housing associations, the Housing Corporation issued guidance in August 2004 on the production of ASB policies.

- The Housing Corporation issued guidance to housing associations in July 2004 on the eligibility of housing applicants with a history of ASB, or previous convictions; the use of starter and demoted tenancies; and the use of evictions (only to be considered when other interventions have failed to protect the wider community).

- The Housing Corporation requires housing associations to plan new developments with proper attention to crime and nuisance reduction measures. The Housing Corporation’s design quality initiatives offer practical, physical ways of preventing or reducing ASB. Future assessments of the impact of investment decisions on communities and neighbourhoods will involve both subjective and objective measures, including those associated with crime and nuisance reduction.

- The Housing Corporation will also expect to see consideration of play-space and community facilities in the design of new developments and regeneration projects.

- Under the London Plan, the GLA will work with the London boroughs in developing sub-regional planning frameworks. Issues relating to safety, security and community will be key elements of these frameworks.

**Objective 4: To ensure consistency and sustainability in policy responses to ASB across London**

Different strands of social policy can pull against each other. Stimulating the night-time economy is desirable, for example, but there are problems to be tackled associated with ASB. There can be tensions between promoting the welfare of children and carrying out enforcement with respect to children engaged in ASB. We aim to ensure that:

- the London ASB Strategy is internally consistent; and
- other work and strategic initiatives undertaken by the cross-London agencies are in harmony with this strategy.

**a Ensuring the internal consistency of the London ASB Strategy**

All work carried out under this strategy must be fully consistent with the principles that underpin this strategy, as set out in Section 2 of the document:

- ASB must be tackled effectively
- there must be sustainable and long-term solutions, combining prevention and enforcement • ASB measures must be consistent with human rights legislation • ASB measures must foster, rather than undermine, social inclusion and cultural diversity.

• In April 2006, all the strategy partners will assess the extent to which their work on ASB to date has been consistent with the principles of the strategy. • The GLA will mount an equality impact assessment to assess the impact of this programme of work on minority groups such as BME groups, refugees and asylum seekers, religious minorities. • This impact assessment will pay particular attention to whether enforcement has the effect of further marginalising and stigmatising vulnerable groups (e.g., children, homeless people and mentally ill people) and how any such negative effects can be mitigated. • In carrying out work under this strategy, we shall ensure that the positive as well as negative behaviours of children and young people are recognised and that the work is consistent with the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. • YJB will consider the impact of ASB legislation on the use of custody for young people, in line with the need to reserve custody for the most serious and persistent young offenders.

b Ensuring harmony between the London ASB Strategy and other regional programmes

The cross-London agencies are collectively responsible for a wide range of policy issues. Inevitably different agencies – and departments within agencies – have differing priorities. It is essential to minimise the tension between different policy agendas. • All signatories to the London ASB Strategy will ensure that their work on ASB is consistent with the strategy’s principles. • The GLA will mount an equality impact assessment to assess the impact of the strategy’s programme of work on minority groups. • YJB will consider the impact of ASB legislation on the use of custody for young people. • Other London-wide programmes and strategies will be assessed in order to identify and address any inconsistencies with the London ASB Strategy. The lead agencies for this task will be identified by the working party. • Key issues to be addressed by the audit of London-wide programmes include:

- Ensuring that the voices of children and young people are heard in developing and implementing work that has a bearing on ASB in London.
- Ensuring that local responses to ASB involving children and young people are consistent with the Mayor’s Children and Young People’s Strategy; and that potential conflicts of interest between care and control of children are resolved.
- Reviewing youth provision, school exclusion policies and school admission policies in London, especially in the light of recent legislative changes and the forthcoming Youth Green Paper (autumn 2004), to address the deficit in out-of-school provision for children and young people.
- Ensuring that any changes in legislation relating to the night-time economy in commercial areas of London results in consideration of how to reduce any related alcohol-related crime and disorder.
- Ensuring that the implications for ASB are taken fully into account in decisions made throughout London (and under the Mayor’s London Plan) relating to housing allocation, planning, land use and building design.
- Ensuring that the London ASB Strategy contributes to the sustainable development of London, as defined by the Mayor’s Sustainable Development Framework for London.

**Objective 5: To identify regional structures for tackling ASB**

We shall only achieve Objectives 1-4 if overall responsibility for the strategy is allocated to a regional body that can drive it forward and review progress.

The Crime and Disorder Plus Steering Group will take on this responsibility. The Group is chaired by the GLA, and brings together London-wide agencies to co-ordinate work on crime and disorder.

Crime and Disorder Plus will identify appropriate working groups to take forward the work of the strategy. If this is deemed appropriate, the working party responsible for producing this document will direct and oversee implementation of the strategy. Where necessary, new working groups may be established to take forward particular tasks under the strategy. However, the guiding principle will be that it is preferable to use existing viable structures than to create new ones. The first step in implementation of the strategy will be the development of an outcome-focused action plan, which will be an elaboration of the programme of action presented in this document. The action plan will set out the specific actions to be undertaken by each of the strategy partners, together with detailed time-scales, targets and performance indicators. It will also be necessary to establish a system for monitoring and review of the actions.

## 5 Implementation plan

**Objective 1: To energise and support local action by CDRPs and their partners**

| Agency | Action | |--------|--------| | All (through C & D+ and ASB working group). | a Maintaining the momentum in tackling ASB | | MPS/LFEPA/City of London | | | MPA | | | ALG | | | GOL | | | BTP & TfL | | | YJB | | | ALG | b Helping local partnerships identify funding opportunities for ASB work | | YJB | | | GOL | c Providing training for ASB practitioners | | MPS | | | MPS/ALG | | | ALG | | | GLA/ALG | | | YJB | | | Various | | | Various | d Developing guidance for ASB practitioners | | TFL | | Actions

- As concerns in London are higher than elsewhere in the country, then it is appropriate that the capital should develop new or innovative approaches to tackle the problem. The Crime and Disorder Plus Steering Group and its working group on ASB will devise three or four high-profile new cross-borough initiatives each year in discussion with ASBU and find ways to develop, fund, launch and evaluate them.

- As CDRP partners, these agencies will continue to ensure that action on ASB is prioritised by the partnerships (including action on night-time alcohol-related Police disorder), and to engage fully in local consultation and the design and implementation of initiatives.

- MPA members sitting on CDRPs will seek to ensure that local community safety strategies reflect ASB priorities in the London Police Plan and the priorities of the London ASB Strategy.

- Ensure prioritisation of ASB in workstreams and ensure that ASB remains high on the local political agenda.

- Promote the sharing of experiences and expertise of local authority Members through ALG groups and forums.

- Include ASB among topics covered in programme of conferences and training.

- Ensure prioritisation of ASB in CDRP strategies and that ASB strategies are implemented effectively.

- Ensure that CDRPs are linked to the national TOGETHER campaign on ASB.

- Support CDRPs nominated as Trailblazers or Action Areas under TOGETHER campaign.

- Ensure that considerations of transport-related ASB are incorporated within CDRP strategies and processes.

- Support locally-based preventive remedies eg YISPs and YIPs.

- Prioritise ASB issues in the next funding round and consider scope for directing ALG funding to ASB work in the medium term.

- Use funding to expand provision of YISPs and YIPs.

- Develop existing training programme for ASB co-ordinators.

- Ensure CDRPs are linked into TOGETHER Academy training programme.

- Continue involvement in multi-agency training on ASB; the exchange and collation of information on ASB initiatives; and the development of the ASB practitioners’ forum.

- Extend and enhance training provision for licensees, door staff and others on ASB in and around licensed premises.

- Provide ongoing guidance, advice and training in public realm issues through its Transport and Environment Committee and to organise an ASB event for members in 2005.

- Assist in the development of child-specific training provision for practitioners.

- Ensure YOT staff are briefed on new ASB powers and participate in their implementation.

- Work with the London Retail Consortium to develop training on tackling ASB for staff in London businesses.

- Provide guidance/best practice on effective delivery structures for CDRPs.

- Provide guidance on all aspects of enviro-crime through Transport and Environment Committee.

- Issued Statutory Management Guidance to housing associations on the production of ASB policies, and guidance on dealing with applicants, evictions, starter tenancies and demoted tenancies.

- Continue to develop web-based good practice bank.

- Establish common methods of identifying, developing, evaluating and promulgating good practice in tackling ASB.

- TfL is drafting a TfL-wide Crime and Disorder Strategy (encompassing the work of BTP and TOCU) to include plans for common approaches to transport policing and ASB issues in London, such as anti-graffiti tactics, the use of relevant orders, co-ordination of CCTV facilities and ways of tackling ticket touting.

### Objective 2: To improve co-ordination and co-operation between local agencies and partnerships

| Action | Agency | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------| | a Tracking borough activity on ASB | GOL | | b Tracking regional activity on ASB | GOL | | c Co-ordinating enforcement | GOL | | d Co-ordinating support for perpetrators | Working group to be established| | e Improving local co-ordination with the courts and support for ASB victims and witnesses | To be identified | | f Facilitating data gathering, analysis and exchange | MPA/MPS/GOL | | | GLA | | | GOL | | | GLA | | | Housing Corp | | | BTP & MPS | | g Helping to engage local people and promoting communications strategies | MPA/MPS | | | MPA | | | GLA/ALG | | | GLA/MPS/MPS | | | GOL | | | Housing Corp | | h Helping to get local agencies on board | ALG | | | GLA | | | GOL | | | MPS | | | Housing Corp | **Actions**

- Extend and develop electronic tracking of borough activity on ASB.
- Mount a mapping exercise of regional activity on ASB.
- Support development of an ASBO register.
- Develop new mechanisms for co-ordinating support for ASB perpetrators, including ABC and ASBO recipients and perpetrators who have been evicted for ASB.
- Develop framework for liaison between local ASB practitioners, courts and the CPS – building on current CPS and developments eg provision of ASB expert prosecutors and ASB response courts.
- Framework to include improved provision for ASB victims and witnesses.
- Implement new framework.
- Lead on pan-London ASBO project involving multi-agency training on ASBOs and the production of standardised ASBO case papers.
- Promote involvement of YOT staff in ASB court proceedings.
- Encourage use of restorative justice options with victims of ASB committed by young people.
- Develop guidance on data-related issues eg recording and measuring ASB incidents, management of case-work information, evaluation etc.
- Develop a minimum functional specification for local ASB information systems.
- Develop model protocols for information exchange (within and between CDRPs) on ASB perpetrators.
- Provide guidance on equality impact assessments.
- Annual data collection from housing association on range of ASB-related activities, eg evictions, demoted tenancies; continuous data collection on lettings, applicants’ histories (previous experiences of ASB), properties available as the result of evictions.
- Collect and review police data on ASB incidents from all boroughs.
- Ensure that the new Safer Neighbourhood policing teams fully engage with local communities and agencies in identifying and tackling ASB issues.
- Develop a Community Engagement Strategy to promote the involvement of local people and businesses in the policing of ASB; and ensure that the diversity agenda is addressed as part of this work.
- Support an emphasis on the diversity agenda in work to promote community engagement.
- Co-ordinate work promoting dialogue between younger and older members of local communities.
- Encourage CDRPs to develop communications strategies, focused on building public confidence in local action on ASB.
- Require housing associations to consult residents in drawing up their ASB policies, and to be responsive to residents’ views and priorities.
- Work through Member groups to encourage the engagement of local education authorities, social services and other local authority departments in local work to tackle ASB.
- Encourage the involvement of relevant health agencies in the work of CDRPs, through the London Health Commission.
- Support ALG and GLA’s promotion of local partnerships.
- Work in partnership with the London Retail Consortium to develop responses to ASB within business and retail premises.
- Promote housing association engagement with CDRPs.

### Objective 3: To supplement local action with cross-London work

| Agency | Action | |--------|--------| | **a Neighbourhood policing** | MPA/MPS | | | GOL/GLA/MPS | | | GOL | | **b Transport** | BTP | | | BTP | | | BTP | | | BTP | | | All Agencies | | | TFL | | | TFL | | | TFL/MPS/BTP | | | TFL | | | TFL | | | TFL | | | TFL | | **c Fire** | LFEPA | | **d Housing and planning** | Housing Corp | | | GLA | **Actions**

- Establish Safer Neighbourhood Teams across London which will engage in focused, community-based policing. The teams will work in partnership with local communities and agencies, and will identify, prioritise and tackle those issues that are causing the greatest concern.

- Multi-agency work to develop regional responses to problems associated with begging.

- Multi-agency work to develop regional responses to problems associated with alcohol-related disorder.

- Work with partners to support a consistent response to environmental crime, building on the Capital Standards programme.

- Continue to support established warden schemes.

- Ensure that tackling ASB remains one of the fundamental priorities.

- Continue to enhance the quality of life for those using and working on the railway by the use of ASBOs and other interventions.

- Work closely with TFL, MPS and COLP to further enhance a joined-up policing approach to ASB across London.

- Further enhance information sharing between transport policing and other agencies, particularly targeting ticket touts (travel cards, concert and football tickets).

- Actively use the National Graffiti Database (hosted by BTP in partnership with the Home Office and London Underground).

- Continue to support and fund existing transport policing resources on London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway.

- Continue to support work of LU operational staff who gather evidence for ASBO applications.

- Implement Community Safety Strategy, developed by BTP and TfL/London Underground.

- Continue to support and fund the MPS Transport OCU.

- Co-ordinate bus CCTV activities between TFL, MPS and bus operators, and assist in producing CCTV images of offenders for identification by schools, YOTs and Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

- Develop and implement TfL-wide Policing Plan.

- Support and fund 200 additional reassurance police to augment current BTP resources on the Underground, major interchanges and DLR; these to be in place by beginning of 2005/06.

- Implement London Safety Plan.

- Continue to seek external funding to sustain and expand the LIFE programme.

- Continue work of Arson Task Force and share lessons learnt.

- Continue work of Juvenile Fire-setters Intervention Scheme.

- Continue work to tackle hoax calls.

- Undertake other young people’s initiatives.

- Continue stressing importance of housing association working in partnership to tackle ASB.

- Promote good practice in ASB work by housing associations through guidance on production of ASB policies, and guidance on housing eligibility and the use of starter and demoted tenancies and evictions.

- Ensure that housing associations take ASB issues into account in the design of new housing developments and regeneration projections.

- To work with London boroughs under the Mayor’s London Plan, in developing sub-regional planning frameworks – taking into account design issues relating to safety, security and community. Objective 4: To ensure consistency and sustainability in policy responses to ASB across London

| Agency | | |--------|---| | a | Ensuring the internal consistency of the London ASB Strategy | All signatories | | | GLA | | | | YJB | | | b | Ensuring harmony between the London ASB Strategy and other regional programmes | To be identified | **Actions**

- Assess the extent to which the cross-London agencies’ work on ASB is consistent with the principles of the London ASB Strategy.

- Mount an equality impact assessment to assess the impact of the strategy’s programme of work on minority groups.

- Consider impact of ASB legislation on use of custody for young people.

- Carry out assessments of other cross-London programmes and strategies to identify and address inconsistencies between these and the London ASB Strategy. Appendix: participants in the consultation

**London CDRPs**

- Barking and Dagenham
- Camden
- Corporation of London
- Croydon
- Enfield
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Richmond
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wandsworth
- Westminster

**Housing associations/housing association representatives**

- Family Housing Association
- G17 Anti-Social Behaviour Group
- Gallions Housing Association
- Genesis Housing Group
- Hyde Group
- Notting Hill Housing Group
- Orbit Bexley Housing Association
- Richmond Housing Partnership
- Southern Housing Group

**Other**

- Home Office

- ODPM Neighbourhood Renewal Unit

- Crown Prosecution Service, London

- ASBO Solutions

- Black Londoners Forum

- Camden LGBT Forum

- Crimestoppers

- Croydon Churches

- EC1 New Deal for Communities

- Groundwork

- Mediation UK

- NSPCC

- Revolving Doors Agency

- Royal Parks Police Other formats and languages For a large print, Braille, disc, sign language video or audio-tape version of this document, please contact us at the address below: Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority City Hall The Queen’s Walk London SE1 2AA

Telephone 020 7983 4100 Minicom 020 7983 4458 www.london.gov.uk

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City Hall The Queen’s Walk London SE1 2AA

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MoL/July05/JW D&P/GLA 790